Brandon was silent for a few moments, taking everything in. The rain had stopped, but it was still misting outside. They would be back to the place where they left his truck soon. If he had any more pressing questions, he needed to ask now. “And what happens if I don’t Transform before I turn twenty-one? I just can’t do it?”
“Likely no,” Aaron responded. “That’s not to say that no one has ever Transformed past the age of twenty-one. There have been a few anomalies. But for the most part, you have to be older than seventeen, younger than twenty-on
Returning to his lair served to be more challenging than Giovani had originally anticipated. It was nearly midnight when they arrived in Cesky Krumlov, which not only meant Vampires had taken to the street to prey on tourists out sightseeing too late, but Vampire Hunters were out as well. Giovani had not been too worried about this; after all, none of the local Hunters should be too familiar with him. They certainly shouldn’t be able to recognize him with dark glasses and a hat on. However, as they rounded the corner a few blocks from the house that sat atop their chambers, he froze, his arm darting out to prevent the rest of his party from continuing as well.
Even with the knowledge of the Jogging Path Killer’s identity, actually finding him had proven more difficult than expected, and after a long night of searching every known location of Steven Gibbon over the last four years since he had moved to Philadelphia, they were no closer to putting their hands on him. Sitting in an unmarked car outside Rocky’s Gym at six o’clock was not Watson’s idea of a calm and relaxing morning.Taking a sip of her black coffee, she glanced down at her phone to see a text from Dixon letting her know he was on his way to relieve her. She had been awake
Saturday mornings were usually pancake days at the Findley residence, and while Cadence would have slept past eight if she had been home, Cass was one to get up early and help her dad make a mess in the kitchen. Despite her own exhaustion from being up most of the night, Cadence was up bright and early to give her little sister a call and try to explain what she had seen the night before.Cadence didn’t use FaceTime because she looked like grim death. Her plan was to talk to her sister briefly and then go back to sleep. She was hopeful that her sibling would comply. The phone only rang o
“How do you want to handle this?” Dixon asked, seeing Gibbon approach the building. He had ridden in on a shabby 12-speed bicycle, which he didn’t even bother to secure to the bike rack. Despite being at least fifty pounds of muscle heavier, he was easily recognizable. He was about six feet tall, shaved head, with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, just like in his mug shot.“We’ve got to be careful,” Watson replied, not taking her eyes off of the mark. “I don’t want to risk tipping him off that we are here and having him take off on us.&rdquo
Brandon was not up and at ‘em quite as early as usual that Saturday morning. He had been exhausted by the time he got home the night before, but it had taken him forever to fall asleep. There was just no way he could unsee what he had witnessed the night before. He finally dragged himself out of bed around ten o’clock, took a quick shower, and made his way to the kitchen hoping his mom had made some coffee. He was surprised to find there was actually some left in the pot, and she was sitting at the kitchen table herself. Usually, she’d get up, make some coffee, and stagger back to bed. He knew something must be up the second he walked in the room, but he decided to act nonchalant and let her bring it up in her own time.
Though Cadence and Aaron could have made the drive from Kansas City to Shenandoah fairly quickly, flying was even faster, and it allowed them to get to Iowa, briefly visit her family, and return to headquarters all before 2:00. Still, the trip had eaten up a fair amount of their Saturday, and Cadence was pondering whether or not to go with the rest of the team on the assigned hunt that night or spend it with her sister. She hadn’t missed a local hunt since she became the Hunter Leader, and while the rest of the team assured her they could handle it without her, she was hesitant to sit one out. Nevertheless, Cassidy had a lot of questions and wanted to see everything, so eventually she decided to turn it over to Aurora and spend as much time with Cassidy as she could. After all, they had al
“Brandon!” Cadence exclaimed, flinging herself at him. He barely had time to open his arms before she wrapped him up in a huge hug. “You came! You’re here.”“Surprise! It’s me!” he said, less than enthusiastically. “Hope you weren’t expecting the pizza guy.”“No, some of us don’t like pizza,” Cadence said, fi
Meagan, Shane, and Aurora were working out on the cardio equipment as Aaron and Cadence entered the building to show Brandon and Cassidy around. They all promptly stopped what they were doing, recognizing Cassidy but awestruck at seeing Brandon in person for the first time.“Oh, wow,” Aurora said as she walked over, drying her forehead off with a hand towel. “You’ve got to be Brandon. We’ve heard so much about you.” She offered him her hand, which he shook. “I’m Aurora.”